Kale Salad with Apples, Cranberries and Roasted Butternut Squash

Thoroughly 'massaged' kale ribbons, fresh Pink Lady apple chunked and soaked in lemon juice, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, roasted cubes of butternut squash, a small handful of Feta cheese  and there you have last night's dinner.



This was a celebration of the old and the new. We picked the first kale from this year's vegetable garden and used the last butternut squash from last year's garden. There's something so satisfying about coming full circle ! So simple, and so basic. We did not go full out with a lemon dijon vinaigrette, as the greens were already massaged with olive oil and Kosher salt. The apple has a liberal dose of lemon juice to keep it nice and crisp white. Those flavours mimicked a dressing nicely. Who needed more?

Do you need a recipe for this? No! Just cut enough kale for how ever many folks are around your dinner table, drizzle with some olive oil and a couple pinches of Kosher salt, massage it well and set it aside. Raid your fridge for some fruit and vegetables to add, go to your cupboard and decide on the nuts and seeds and dried fruits, roast some veg (squash was awesome, but roasted sweet potato or chunks of summer squash or zucchini might be good too!). Get creative! The gardening season has so much to offer right now!